Artificial hair

ABSTRACT

AN ARTIFICAIL HAIR PIECE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF FILA MENTS OF SYNTHETIC OR REGENERATED POLYMERIC MATERIAL FOR EXAMPLE CELLULOSE TRIACETATE, THE FILAMENTS HAVING HOLLOW INTERIOR BY VIRTUE OF HAVING A CROSS-SECTION WHICH IS A RING OR AN OPEN OR CLOSED SPLIT-RING.

Oct. 26, 1971 s. HAWTlN ETAL 3,614,843

ARTIFICIAL HAIR Filed Oct. 31, 1968 //7 l/E/7/0/5 Se/wyn 680/916 H0 wf/n Hora/d George Mafia/[900 8y Dow's, Hax/e, Fo/fhfu/l 8 Hapgo 0d A l/omeys 3,614,843 ARTllFllClAL HAIR Selwyn tG. Hawtin, Whitley, Coventry, and Harold G. Mallahan, Napton, near Rugby, England, assignors to Courtaulds, Limited, London, England Filed Oct. 31, 1968, Ser. No. 772,361 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Nov. 1, 1967, 49,565/67 lint. Cl. A63h 3/44 US. Cl. 46172 7 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE An artificial hair piece comprising a plurality of filaments of synthetic or regenerated polymeric material, for example cellulose triacetate, the filaments having a hollow interior by virtue of having a cross-section which is a ring or an open or closed split-ring.

This invention relates to artificial hair comprising filaments of synthetic or regenerated polymeric material. Such artificial hair has been used as hair for dolls and also in the form of wigs for human use. The filaments used include nylon and cellulose acetate, particularly the latter.

According to this invention, a hair piece comprises a plurality of filaments of synthetic or regenerated polymeric material, the filaments having a hollow interior by virtue of having a cross-section which is a ring or an open or closed split ring.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a schematic fragmentary view in vertical section of a hairpiece according to the invention. FIG. 2 is a view in vertical section of a doll having artificial hair in accordance with the invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a filament in accordance with the invention of a ring-like cross-section in the shape of a closed ring. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a filament according to the invention having a ring-like cross section in the form of a split ring, the ends of the split being in contact with one another. FIG. 5 is a crosssectional view of a filament according to the invention having a ring-like cross-section in the form of a split ring in which the ends of the split are spaced from one another.

By a hair piece is meant an organised bundle of filaments suitable for use as hair and the term includes human wigs, a head of hair for a doll and part-wigs for both humans and dolls, for example a pony-tail or a top-knot.

It has been found that compared with hair pieces made from solid synthetic or regenerated filaments, the hair pieces of the present invention have a better covering power on a weight for weight basis and also their component filaments distribute themselves more evenly. An example of this latter characteristic is shown when one compares two hanks of hair, one made from solid cellulose acetate filaments and the other made from hollow cellulose filaments, which are draped from a curved surface to simulate the natural fall of hair from a head. After being combed, the draped solid filament hank tends to segregate into clumps, especially if shaken slightly, much like the effect commonly referred to in respect of human hair as rats-tails. The draped hollow filament hank, however, even after shaking, remains a substantially uniform hank and moreover has a greater fullness and a more pronounced burst from the roots, in this case the held ends, than the solid filament hank.

The smoothness of the outer surface of a hollow filament compared with that of a solid filament, which is usually crenulated, also gives advantageous properties to the hair piece of the invention. One advantage is the comparative ease with which the hair piece can be combed Bfildfidfi Patented Get. 26, 11971 and another is the better stitching properties of the hollow filaments in the process of stitching hair into a dolls head.

The component filaments of the hair piece of the invention may be spun by the known techniques. For example, a hollow filament having the cross-section of a ring may be spun through an annular jet hole and a hollow filament having the cross-section of an open or closed split ring may be spun through a jet hole which is crescent-shaped or in the shape of a circle which is partially blocked by a small-angle segmental solid portion.

The filaments of synthetic or regenerated polymeric material may be any that are suitable for use as artificial hair and that can be spun in hollow form. Polymers which Can be spun as hollow filaments include cellulose esters, for example cellulose acetate, polyamides, for example nylon, polyesters, for example polyethylene terephthalate, acrylics and modacrylics and polymers and copolymers of olefines and vinyl esters.

Hairpieces according to the invention can be made by any conventional technique, for example by the technique disclosed in Seiderman Pat. No. 2,636,460. Referring to FIG. 1, a hairpiece 12 according to the invention may comprise a base 10 which may be of fabric or an elastomeric substance and individual filaments 11 which have hollow interiors by virtue of ring-like cross-sections. The cross-section of the filaments may be a completely closed ring as shown in FIG. 3, a split ring in which the ends of the split are more or less in contact with one another as shown in FIG. 4, or a split ring in which the ends of the split are spaced from one another as shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 2 shows a doll having a hairpiece 12 whose hair is made of filaments 11 having the cross-sections of FIGS. 3, 4 or 5.

The invention is illustrated by the following examples:

EXAMPLE 1 A solution of cellulose triacetate in a solvent mixture comprising 92% by weight of methylene chloride and 8% by weight of ethanol was dry spun through a spinneret having holes of crescent shaped cross-section at a spinning speed of metres per minute. The spun filaments were of 30 denier and were hollow with a cross-section in the form of a closed split-ring. They were taken up as a twistless yarn on a side wound package.

Yarn from several packages formed in this way was combined to produce a tow of 300,000 denier which was then dyed to a blonde shade. The dyed tow was then cut into twelve inch lengths which were mounted on cloth and then shaped by the normal methods of the wig trade.

The wigs were of a superior appearance in respect of their covering power, their fullness, their evenness of distribution, and their bounce compared with similar wigs made from solid filaments of cellulose triacetate.

EXAMPLE 2 The procedure of Example 1 was repeated except that 10% by weight based on the weight of the cellulose triacetate of tris di-bromo propyl phosphate was added to the spinning solution to impart flame-retardent properties to the hair piece.

After the tow had been dyed it was cut up into staple fibres of various lengths which were stitched into the heads of dolls to form dolls wigs by the normal methods of the doll trade.

What is claimed is:

l. A hairpiece comprising a plurality of filaments made from a substance selected from the group consisting of synthetic polymeric material and regenerated polymeric material, the filaments having a hollow interior by virtue of a ring-like cross-section.

2. A hair piece as claimed in claim l in which the filaments comprise cellulose triacetate.

4 3. A doll having a head to which is stitched a hair piece References Cit d as claimed in claim 1.

4. A doll having a head to which is stitched a hair UNITED STATES PATENTS igce as claimed in claim 2 3,119,398 1/1964 Bennett 6'; 211. 132--5 5. The hairpiece claimed in claim 1 in which the fila- 5 9 7/1970 Lane et a1. 132-53 ments have a cross-section in the shape of a closed ring.

6. The hairpiece claimed in claim 1 in which the fila- LOUIS MANCENE Prlmary Exammer ments have a cross-section in the shape of a split ring G E, M NEILL, Assistant Examiner the ends of the split being spaced from one another.

7. The hairpiece claimed in claim 1 in which the fila- 10 US. Cl. X.R. ments have a cross-section in the shape of a split ring 132-53 the ends of the split being in contact With one another. 

